Welcome to week 4 of Jujutsu Kaisen! Last weeks cliffhanger promised us some death, but it looks like that will have to wait until next week. In the meantime we do get some dismemberment, some curses and a whole load of pretty colors. So without further ado, lets jump right in!
Starting off, everyone’s favorite section, production! Animation wise what stood out to me the most were the ragdoll physics. Watching Itadori get knocked around or Sukuna jump around was a treat. I really enjoyed how the limbs flew around or bodies bounced off the ground, etc. There was also a 3D hallway scene similar to the first episode, but whether it be lighting or the environment, it didn’t look as good this time around. That said, Jujutsu Kaisen continues to be very colorful, using a lot of bright blues, purples and greens to keep things interesting. It was really nice how ever scene had its own color palette to differentiate it. From the dark blue with the curse to the bright red of their initial entry to the green’s of the waterway. Not only did it make it easy to tell locations apart, but it simply looked good.
Onto the actual episode, commenter Zyzyx brought up an interesting point last week and one it sort of delivered on. Because of it’s theme of curses, death and general fuckery, Jujutsu Kaisen has a unique opportunity here. An opportunity to be a more horror focused Shounen. And while it hasn’t fully committed to this yet, I think we are starting to see it test the waters a bit. We see this first with the environments, as Jujutsu Kaisen introduces the concept of “domains”. It’s nothing new, but it does open the door to some unique set design. For instance this episode we saw a sort of light MC Escher effect with the pipes and hallways. The entrance was removed, the pipes were twisted, etc. Nothing you would find in a normal detention center. It makes me excited for whats to come as we meet more… personable curses.
On the topic of the curse itself, he was both good and bad. The good was in his presentation, he continued this feeling of horror. Quietly stealing Nobara away or killing Fushiguro’s dog before anyone noticed. It was a good attempt at jobbing, of setting up his strength before Sukuna takes him out. The bad however is just how forgettable this curse really is. The design is kinda neat, but as a character? It can’t even speak, its just a mindless monsters that gets by on shock factor and noises. That’s fine for its role, but it won’t be winning any character awards if you know what I mean. Really the only memorable villain so far at all is Sukuna, and he hasn’t done much at all. It looks like that’s about to change though because I really liked what this episode did for him.
Before this episode, I suspected Sukuna would end up like a Nine-Tails, eventually befriending Itadori. But this episode went a long way towards showing just how… monstrous he truly is. Between refusing to help Itadori, to promising to kill his friends first, to outright trying to ally with the curse? Only to then start cruelly toying with the curse the moment it turns against him? Jujutsu Kaisen makes it clear that Sukuna is on nobodies side but his own. He feels like the greatest threat in the show, yet he is also our greatest ally in terms of strength. I’m looking forward to seeing where Jujutsu Kaisen goes with him. My hope is that he stays this barely controlled malevolent force, something that makes Itadori’s power risky to use. Something that gives inherent stakes to every fight. But for those stakes to exist well… something has to happen next episode.
I am of course talking about the “one of them will die” cliffhanger we got last episode. Right now the one at the most risk is easily Fushiguro. Alone with an effectively freed Sukuna, already wounded and low on power? I don’t really see how he gets out of this alive without some Shounen fuckery. Hear me out for a second though, what about Itadori? As the only other alternative, I think there is a case here for MC death. Jujutsu Kaisen is a series based on curses and death, with Sukuna we already have evidence of a character existing after death. So what about the possibility of Itadori giving his life to allow Fushiguro to kill him/Sukuna, and then existing as a curse? Or some kind of “fight through hell” sort of arc? It’s a slight copout, since he isn’t permanently dead, but it could work.
Either way I am looking forward to how Jujutsu Kaisen handles it. Fushiguro’s death would be a great blow to Itadori’s ideals/lifestyle. After all he entered this business wanting to protect people, specifically because he didn’t want Fushiguro to go off and fight alone while he was safe. So for his own actions to result in his death? I think it would make for a nice low-point, something for him to crawl out of while Sukuna is taunting him all the while. It would also allow Jujutsu Kaisen to lean into its horror elements a lot more, either through traumatic visions or just darker imagery. I don’t expect Jujutsu Kaisen to actually go down this road, but it would be very interesting if it did.
All in all, how was Jujutsu Kaisen this week? The pacing was a lot faster and the villain not particularly exciting, but the character work on Sukuna was great and I enjoyed the set design. I enjoyed the episode a fair bit and I think its a ballsy move to go for this kind of character death this early. My only fear at this point is whether or not its going to completely screw the next episode up. Because if done right, it could lay the ground work for the next 1 and a half cours of content. But if it screws it up who knows what Jujutsu Kaisen will be like moving forward. What do you all think though? Is Jujutsu Kaisen shaping up well like I feel it is, or did I miss some glaring issue in my hype train? Let me know below!
I fully expect Fushiguro to die next episode at the hands of Sukuna, especially after Sukuna noted what would piss off Itadori most is killing Fushiguro. I’d be very surprised if it was Itadori who died at the hands of Fushiguro given that Sukuna has full control right now, and it’d be a cop-out if Itadori came back to life in that scenario. I really wonder how the story will go because it’s clear that Itadori can only handle having the power of 2 fingers. Sukuna grabbing a third finger from the special grade curse womb that was only a special grade curse because of the finger is already enough to overwhelm Itadori, so it seems the plan for Itadori to be a vessel for all 20 fingers is going to have to be revised. Itadori’s execution date will probably be moved up after Sukuna kills Fushiguro, and I think it’ll be interesting to see how the story would justify delaying Itadori’s execution after a Jujutsu Tech student dies.
For sure, killing Itadori only to bring him back would definitely be a cop out and I hope it doesn’t go that route. But I can’t shake this feeling that it isn’t going to kill one of its lead 3 characters this early. I would love it if it happened, the story and character implications would be staggering!
I’m glad to see you’re also liking the potential for horror with JJK and it’s definitely gone more in that direction than I would have thought, what with the mutilated body of the juvenile delinquent and all. With horror there is the sense that nobody is safe and JJK is doing a good job in making the stakes seem real for the protagonists. Still don’t think one of the main three will die but you do get the sense that there is real danger for them.
Also I can’t agree more about how refreshing it is that Sukuna is not the JJK equivalent of the Nine Tails, as you put it. It would be really interesting if Sukuna remains an enemy to the very end. How Itadori could use his power while never actually becoming an ally of Sukuna would be a more interesting take on this whole situation.